ward twelve who had not seen it. The judge discharged 
the accused on the ground that the weight of evidence was 
in his favor. Are we to take that attitude or are we to 
believe the evidence of those who have actually seen Loons 
using their wings under water? Of course their numbers 
will be few compared with those who have not seen this. 
To see it well the water must be clear and quite still and 
preferably the observer should be high above it in such a 
position as upon a mast head, the high deck of a vessel, a 
jutting wharf, a cliff or a bridge, or he must have the Loon 
in an artificial pond where he can choose or arrange 
a suitable post for observation. Many ornithologists 
have been in such positions but few have had the good for¬ 
tune to have the Loons close at hand at such times. 
Let us see what some fortunate ones have actually seen. 
Audubon says that having seen Loons “pass and repass 
under boats at a distance of several feet from the surface 
and propel themselves both with their feet and their half 
extended wings,” he is inclined to believe that when pur¬ 
suing their prey they usually employ all their limbs. 
Nuttall says that he kept a Loon in a pond; that it often 
swam under water, “flying with the velocity of an arrow 
through the air.” He does not say that the bird used its 
wings and may have used the word “flying” figuratively, 
as an arrow is said to fly though it has no wings. 
Suckley slightly wounded a Red-throated Loon which 
attempted to escape by swimming under water from a 
shallow lagoon through a narrow outlet into the Straits of 
Fuca. He pursued it on the bank above and could watch 
its every motion although he was obliged to run at top 
speed to keep pace with it. He says “It had the head and 
neck extended perfectly straight, the bill acting as a ‘cut¬ 
water’ and, in addition to the ordinary propulsion by the 
feet, used the wings exactly as if flying.” “Indeed,” he 
says, “the bird was flying through the water instead of 
air.” Here is a perfectly clear statement of the mode of 
progression which agrees with the account of Audubon. 
Coues tells of one of his early experiences with the Pa- 
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